A3
“We need to create competitive markets for farmers where they can sell directly”
PROFITABILITY OF farming needs to be increased. Policymakers need to put special efforts to regulate seed, pesticide and fertiliser prices so that malpractices or higher prices charged by the middlemen can be curtailed.
It is also important to increase competition among input suppliers by eliminating monopolistic practices so that they supply inputs on the farmer’s doorstep at a reasonable price. The other intervention is to promote judicious use of fertilisers and water by implementing schemes, such as Soil Health Card and Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (pmksy). This will help curb input costs and increase profitability.
There is a need for increased fund allocation and administrative support to Price Stabilization Fund (psf), given that the farmers are now exposed to highly fluctuating global market. Market reforms like direct marketing and electronic National Agricultural Market (enam) should be encouraged to create competitive marketplaces for farmers to sell directly to consumers and large retailers. Increased market infrastructure, road and rail network to connect rural areas need to be emphasised to reduce logistics costs and make farmers’ produce competitive with international markets. Information gaps need to be bridged so that farmers know where the potential markets are and which technology is best to cater to the emerging markets. Government’s extension machinery is non-functional in many states. The Agricultural Technology Management Agency (atma) needs to be revived at the district level to meet information needs of farmers by using stateof-the-art technologies like cloud-based mobile information system. Ad-hoc policies like loan waiver will harm more than benefitting the farmers. There is a need for long-term and stable policy environment for reducing costs, increasing productivity with assured price through policy intervention.